Human pressure on world's ocean shows no sign of slowing

THE RACE FOR THE OCEAN: Human pressure on the world’s ocean accelerated sharply at the start of the 21st century and shows no sign of slowing, according to a comprehensive new analysis on the state of the ocean.

Scientists have dubbed the dramatic rise the “Blue Acceleration”.

The researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, synthesized 50-years of data from shipping, drilling, deep-sea mining, aquaculture, bioprospecting and much more.

The results are published in the journal One Earth.

The scientists say the largest ocean industry is the oil and gas sector, responsible for about one third of the value of the ocean economy.

Sand and gravel are the ocean’s most mined minerals to meet demand from the construction industry.

As freshwater become an increasingly scarce commodity, around 16,000 desalination plants have sprung up around the world in the last 50 years with a steep rise since 2000, according to the analysis.

More stringent criteria for investments

The authors conclude by calling for increased attention to who is driving the Blue Acceleration, what is financing it and who is benefiting from it.

The United Nations is embarking on a “decade of the ocean” in 2021. The scientists say this is is an opportunity to assess the social-ecological impacts and manage ocean resources for long-term sustainability.

They highlight there is a high degree of consolidation relating the seafood industry, oil and gas exploitation and bioprospecting with just a small handful of multinational companies dominating each sector.

The team suggests that banks and other investors could adopt more stringent sustainability criteria for ocean investments.

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